Millions Spent on Military Equipment for the EPA

Open the Books, a government watchdog organization, has put out a ,report that says the EPA spends millions on buying military equipment, including guns, body armor, camouflage equipment, unmanned aircraft, amphibious assault ships, radar and night-vision gear. Forgive me, but when I think of the EPA, modern warfare does not become the first image that crosses my mind.

I have a real hard time wrapping my mind around the EPA needing amphibious assault ships. And can they even be operated in waters polluted by millions of gallons of orange mine sludge? I admit I am somewhat curious to what it must look like when Gina McCarthy storms the beach in her helmet carrying a stinger missile.

Adam Andrzejewski, founder of Open the Books, commented:

“Protecting the environment just got real. With millions of dollars spent on military style weaponry, the EPA is now literally ensconced with all institutional force.”

“Our report discovered that when the EPA comes knocking they are armed with a thousand lawyers, arrest/criminal data, credit, business and property histories, plus a ‘Special Agent’ with the latest in weaponry and technology.”

The EPA has 200 armed special agents for those busy Sunday afternoon raids of BBQ grills out in suburbia or those late night raids on mud puddles during the rainy season. These special agents were authorized in 1988 during the Reagan administration but didn’t become radicalized until Lisa Jackson and now, McCarthy.

According to the report, the EPA spends $216,000 a year on each agent including salary, travel, equipment, training and other expenses.

Other questionable expenses include hundreds of millions of dollars on high-end office furnishings, sports equipment and “environmental justice” grants to raise awareness of global warming. Or maybe I’m being too picky. After all, it’s probably not easy color coordinating your drapes with your amphibious assault vehicle and accessorizing must be murder.